“Switch Mobility continues to do well as it has gained strong traction and achieved positive EBITDA,” said Dheeraj Hinduja, Executive Chairman of Ashok Leyland, while discussing the company’s performance for the June 2025 quarter.
While demand for diesel-powered medium and heavy-duty buses continues to rise, the penetration of electric buses is also growing. During the quarter, e-bus penetration reached 2.8% of total volumes, with 502 units sold, compared with 1.2% in the same period last year.
Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director & CEO of Ashok Leyland, noted that the market outlook for electric buses remains robust. “The market continues to be very strong. We have a new inquiry for over 10,000 e-buses, and those tenders are likely to open in September. Switch Mobility continues to perform well. We have a strong order book, with another 1,000 to 1,200 vehicles in progress. We will also be bidding for the new tenders in September. Of course, there are many other tenders in the pipeline, so we remain quite optimistic about the prospects,” he added.
Providing updates on the upcoming EV manufacturing facility in Lucknow, Agarwal said the company hoped to open it before December. “This will definitely support our production capabilities, given the strong order book we have at present,” he said.
On the State Transport Undertaking (STU) side, Agarwal said the company was receiving bulk orders through the tendering process and was currently operating at full capacity. The new Lucknow plant, scheduled to be operational in Q3, along with the Andhra Pradesh plant— inaugurated in March and now in the ramp-up stage—will be key to meeting demand.
On Thursday, the company announced an infusion of ₹300 crore into its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ohm Global Mobility Pvt Ltd, which provides e-mobility-as-a-service (eMaaS) and operates electric buses and trucks on a pay-per-use model. “Our e-bus sales are closely linked to the support Ohm provides. For many of the new tenders we participate in, Ohm offers funding assistance. Our experience with STUs has been positive, with payments coming in on time. We are not facing any concerns at present,” Agarwal said.
TN e-bus orders
Switch Mobility is also preparing for a major supply of e-buses to Tamil Nadu. “We are supplying a large number of buses to the state. For diesel models, these will be outright purchases, but on the EV side, they will follow the GCC (gross cost contract) model. We are currently delivering 625 electric buses, of which more than 100 have already been supplied. The remaining units will be delivered over the next few months. We also have another tender for 600 EV buses in Tamil Nadu, which will also come under the GCC model,” Agarwal said.
Meanwhile, Ashok Leyland is gearing up for numerous new product launches across categories—big and small trucks, buses, and customised export products—during this fiscal. “In the coming months, you will see several new launches covering high-horsepower vehicles, multi-fuel powertrain options, and products customised for export markets,” said Hinduja.
In the alternate fuel segment, the company is preparing to launch multiple LNG models in the second half of the current financial year. It will also introduce 13.5-metre and 15-metre buses, along with bi-fuel LCV products.
Defence orders booming
Ashok Leyland’s non-commercial vehicle businesses are also growing as per plan. Its aftermarket revenues were up 8% year-on-year in Q1, while revenue from the power solutions business grew 28.5%. Its defence order book and tender pipeline are the strongest ever, with the company confident of posting double-digit defence revenue growth in FY26.
“We have more than ₹1,000 crore worth of defence orders, and an additional ₹2,000 crore of tenders for which we are awaiting confirmation. The defence order book is the strongest we have ever had,” Agarwal said.